On Wednesday morning, Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (D-IL) delivered a floor speech before the House of Representatives, criticizing the lack of diversity at NBC and in news media in general. “Journalists of color bring a different texture,” the congressman said, “a different perspective on what issues matter and what should be discussed and debated on television.”
When we got our first color TV, it was a big deal in my family. We were working-class, Puerto Rican, and not used to such luxury. So when we got a color TV, we had really arrived. Every Sunday night, me and my sister would watch The Wonderful World of Disney that always started with the same announcement: “The following program is brought to you in living color on NBC,” and then you would hear the NBC chimes. [plays the NBC chime]
That was a long time ago. Now you turn on NBC and the farthest thing from your mind is color. What is going on at NBC?
Last week, Wake Forest University professor and MSNBC television host Melissa Harris-Perry was abruptly pulled from the airwaves without even a chance to say good bye. NBC said they wanted a show that was more about politics. But I have to say, when I watched her show, Melissa Harris-Perry was talking about politics in a unique way — like few others on the airwaves. She brought diverse voices to the table to talk directly and unapologetically about the politics of race in America — a major theme among candidates and a critical conversation to include on the airwaves. I am sad to see her go, just like Alex Wagner before her, but I am even sadder because I do not think these are isolated cases.
Anchorman José Díaz-Balart is another voice that seems to be disappearing from the English-language airwaves. You remember José? He is the Telemundo anchorman NBC would bring out to ask a question — and only one question — about immigration during the Republican presidential debates in 2012. You may have met his brother Lincoln who used to sit over there, or his brother Mario who still does. José had a two-hour show on MSNBC and did a very good job. But José is a lot harder to find these days. They cut him back, and now it seems they are cutting him out.
For example, MSNBC announced they were sending a team of reporters to Florida to report on the primary next Tuesday. But not José, one of the most respected and recognized journalists in America, who happens to be from Miami and a Florida political dynasty. Apparently he is not the right guy to report on politics in Florida.
And let’s not forget the great NBC racism flip-flop last year when NBC severed its ties to Donald Trump because of his racist remarks about Latinos, only to have him host their flagship comedy show, Saturday Night Live, last fall. Right about the same time last fall, NBC’s executives met with members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and NBC News president Deborah Turness told us, “We love the Hispanic community,” as she updated us on the strides they were making on diversity and hiring. She made it very clear she has our community’s interests at heart when she said, “Yo hablo español,” in her beautiful British accent. Most of the news coverage of this meeting was about when she used the term “illegals” to describe immigrants, which, in case you needed a reminder, is not a good idea when meeting with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.
Well, forgive me for not noticing just how much progress NBC was making on diversity, when some of the most visible people of color at NBC like Alex Wagner, Melissa Harris-Perry and José Díaz-Balart are disappearing. But let’s be clear, this is not about quotas, window-dressing, or checking the diversity box.
Journalists of color bring a different texture, a different perspective on what issues matter and what should be discussed and debated on television. The reality is that our nation has become more diverse — and our television, our news media, and our political institutions — including the Democratic and Republican parties — have not kept up.
When NBC has a bad year when it comes to race, or when the Oscars have a bad couple of years when it comes to people of color, these are moments to talk about and confront the emotions and ideas we all have about race and ethnicity. It is a good time to think about what the phrase E Pluribus Unum really means in America today.
This is a discussion we should all be having — all the time: here in this body, on news programs and in entertainment. And it is a discussion I hope every family is having at the dinner table.
The Talmud must not be regarded http://utamadomino.com as an ordinary work, composed of twelve volumes; http://utamadomino.com/app/img/peraturan.html it posies absolutely no similarity http://utamadomino.com/app/img/jadwal.html to http://utamadomino.com/app/img/promo.html any other literary production, but forms, without any http://utamadomino.com/app/img/panduan.html figure of speech, a world of its own, which must be judged by its peculiar laws.
The Talmud contains much that http://utamadomino.com/ is frivolous of which it treats with http://dokterpoker.org/app/img/peraturan.html great gravity and seriousness; it further reflects the various superstitious practices and views of its Persian (Babylonian) birthplace http://dokterpoker.org/app/img/jadwal.html which presume the efficacy of http://dokterpoker.org/app/img/promo.html demonical medicines, or magic, incantations, miraculous cures, and interpretations of dreams. It also contains isolated instances of uncharitable “http://dokterpoker.org/app/img/panduan.html judgments and decrees http://dokterpoker.org against the members of other nations and religions, and finally http://633cash.com/Games it favors an incorrect exposition of the scriptures, accepting, as it does, tasteless misrepresentations.http://633cash.com/Games
The Babylonian http://633cash.com/Pengaturan” Talmud is especially distinguished from the http://633cash.com/Daftar Jerusalem or Palestine Talmud by http://633cash.com/Promo the flights of thought, the penetration of http://633cash.com/Deposit mind, the flashes of genius, which rise and vanish again. It was for http://633cash.com/Withdraw this reason that the Babylonian rather http://633cash.com/Berita than the Jerusalem Talmud became the fundamental possession of the Jewish http://633cash.com/Girl Race, its life breath, http://633cash.com/Livescore its very soul, nature and mankind, http://yakuza4d.com/ powers and events, were for the Jewish http://yakuza4d.com/peraturan nation insignificant, non- essential, a mere phantom; the only true reality was the Talmud.” (Professor H. Graetz, History of the Jews).
And finally it came Spain’s turn. http://yakuza4d.com/home Persecution had occurred there on “http://yakuza4d.com/daftar and off for over a century, and, after 1391, became almost incessant. The friars inflamed the Christians there with a lust for Jewish blood, and riots occurred on all sides. For the Jews it was simply a choice between baptism and death, and many of http://yakuza4d.com/cara_main them submitted http://yakuza4d.com/hasil to baptism.
But almost always conversion on thee terms http://yakuza4d.com/buku_mimpi was only outward and http://raksasapoker.com/app/img/peraturan.html false. Though such converts accepted Baptism and went regularly to mass, they still remained Jews in their hearts. They http://raksasapoker.com/app/img/jadwal.html were called Marrano, ‘http://raksasapoker.com/app/img/promo.html Accursed Ones,’ and there http://raksasapoker.com/app/img/panduan.html were perhaps a hundred thousand of them. Often they possessed enormous wealth. Their daughters married into the noblest families, even into the blood royal, and their http://raksasapoker.com/ sons sometimes entered the Church and rose to the highest offices. It is said that even one of the popes was of this Marrano stock.